What was supposed to be a vacation turned out to be a nightmare for three local tourists Aileen Cruz, Rey Busania, and Ofelia Inong when they were arrested without any warrant on September 10 by joint operatives of Regional Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT), the Philippine National Police led by Senior Supt. Ulysses J. Abellera, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Cruz, Busania and Inong were brought and detained at Mt. Province Provincial Police in Bontoc. The three were only brought to the fiscal’s office on September 11. Cruz and Busania were initially cleared of any cases. Inong was shown a warrant of arrest against her under the name of “Lolita Loguibis”, an alleged finance and logistics officer of the NPA. The PNP claimed that Inong is “Loguibis”.

Even without a charge, Busania was not released. Later in the day, a warrant of arrest from Madella, Quirino was issued against Busania.

The arrest followed the series of indiscriminate bombing in the northern villages of Sagada supposedly in pursuit of members of the New People’s Army. The bombings destroyed communal rice fields, hunting grounds, and water source.

“The military’s claim that Rolly Panesa is ‘Benjamin Mendoza’ was proven wrong and unjust. Now they did it again to Ofelia Inong by insisting she is ‘Lolita Loguibis’ supposedly a finance and logistics officer of the NPA. ‘Loguibis’ reportedly has a PhP 2.05M bounty on her head, just as ‘Mendoza’ had PhP 5.6 million,” said Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay.

“This reward/bounty system is getting out of hand and becoming more dangerous, victimizing any person, at random, for the military and police to get the reward money,” Palabay lamented. The PhP 5.6 million bounty for the arrest of ‘Benjamin Mendoza’ was rewarded to an unidentified person for Panesa’s arrest. We don’t even know where that PhP 5.6 million of people’s money went. This reward-bounty system must stop!” Palabay said.